This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

According to The Northern Echo, Steve Bruce is still "recommending" that Newcastle look to sign Hull City ace Jarrod Bowen either in the upcoming January transfer window, or next summer.

What's the word?

Reports over the course of the summer just gone by suggested that the Magpies were monitoring the 22-year-old, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, with Allan Saint-Maximin instead arriving as Newcastle's signing for the position.

Now, The Northern Echo claim that despite Saint-Maximin's capture, Bruce is intent on securing Bowen and that he would be a "fantastic prospect" to sign. The Hull ace's current contract with the club expires at the end of this season, and it is suggested Newcastle are keeping tabs on the situation.

The report further adds Hull would be looking to command a fee in the region of £20m were they to let him go before his contract runs out.

Persistence

As is sometimes the case, once you secure a signing in a position you wanted strengthening, you often forget about some of the other targets that you had in mind previously. But Bruce's persistence in wanting to bring Bowen to St James' Park - a player he coached whilst the pair were together at Hull - shows a bit of long-term planning on the Magpies boss' part.

The fact the Tyneside club have had their eye on Bowen for a very long time now suggests they have done their homework on him. He fits into what they are looking for, and so Bruce's persistence in wanting the club to seal his signature should be applauded. Football is sometimes a reactionary game, but here, the Newcastle manager has shown that he is capable of some structured planning and thinking.

What Bruce has done is essentially thrown the gauntlet down to Mike Ashley. He has doubled down on the target he desperately wants the club to go after, and now it's up to the Newcastle owner to play his cards. Sign Bowen, and it will be a signal of the trust he has in the Magpies boss. Don't, and that will tell its own story.